The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ate gearing up for the start of their offseason programs. With OTAs starting in late May, it’s finally time to turn our attention from free agency and the draft to actual football. With incoming rookies and free agents set to join the team, it’s the veterans that will be looked to for leadership.
One of those veterans that’s being looked at to not only lead, but to take the next step in becoming the best at his position is defensive lineman Vita Vea.
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Recently defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers spoke about this and what he hopes Vea can become.
“Vita has to play better,” Rodgers stated, via PewterReport.com. “When you are talking about that and just looking at plays he’s leaving out there, Vita is a really strong man when he uses his hands and proper technique he’s hard to stop. That’s the thing. He plays hard and does everything we ask of him. Just when you go back and look at some plays, ‘You should have made that play. You know that guy should not be blocking you.’ That’s kind of where we need him to take the next step because he does everything, everything else we ask him for.”
Rodgers continued,
“Vita has to play better,” Buccaneers defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers said. “When you are talking about that and just looking at plays he’s leaving out there, Vita is a really strong man when he uses his hands and proper technique he’s hard to stop.”
“That’s the thing. He plays hard and does everything we ask of him. Just when you go back and look at some plays [you say], ‘You should have made that play. You know that guy should not be blocking you.’ That’s kind of where we need him to take the next step because he does everything, everything else we ask him for.”
Vea isn’t exactly a slouch. He’s a run-stuffing beast in the interior line. He’s also one of the better pass-rushers. Pro Football Focus has him with a 72.3 pass-rush grade. That is mostly based on his 30 total quarterback hurries and 5.5 sacks.
But Rodgers thinks Vea can do better if he’s a tad lighter. Rodgers insinuated that Vea might have taken the advice to trim down.
“Okay, I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag, but wait until you see him when he comes back,” Rodgers said via PewterReport.com. “He looks a lot different. I’ll just let you see him.”
A leaner, quicker, faster Vita Vea? I think we’re all down for that.
The Buccaneers will start May 21-23, followed by additional dates: May 28-30 and June 3-6. The Bucs will hold their mandatory minicamp from June 11-13.
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